The materials in this collection were assembled by Bethel New Life, Inc. in 1984 and 1985 as part of an Illinois Humanities Council grant developed to "involve the Black community of Chicago’s West Side in recovering the recent history of the area." The grant proposal included the organization’s intent to "deposit artifacts in an appropriate archive where there is public access." In Spring 1984, a gift agreement was signed designating the Chicago Public Library’s Special Collections and Preservation Division as that archive. Materials were transferred to the library from 1984 to 1986.

Access:

No restrictions

Citation:

When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Bethel New Life Records [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library.

Processed by:

The collection was processed by archivist Galen R. Wilson in October, 1988, and in early 1989. Throughout the years of the project additional materials have been donated to the archive. In fall, 2002 and throughout 2003, additional materials were added to the processed collection, (Box 3) by Morag Walsh, and transcriptions of the videoed oral history interviews were completed. In fall, 2002, Linda Von Dreele, coordinator of Looking Backward to Move Forward approached Special Collections with a proposal to transcribe the video interviews with funding from Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning; from Bethel New Life, Inc.; and from Columbia College. The funding supported an intern to systematically transcribe the interviews and create full scope notes and indexes for each interview. These transcriptions are in Box 4.

Historical Note

Bethel New Life, Inc. is a non-profit community development corporation and social service organization founded in 1979 and serving Chicago’s West Side. Originally located in West Garfield Park (367 N. Karlov), the corporate offices of Bethel New Life relocated to the Austin community in 2001 (4950 W. Thomas). Through its holistic approach to community development, Bethel New Life provides a broad array of services and programs, including employment and training, child care, senior housing and services, education and health care.

Bethel New Life has its origins in Bethel Lutheran Church, which was founded in 1891 to serve the German/Scandinavian populations in the West Side neighborhood of West Garfield Park. The area had been incorporated into Chicago only two years earlier. The community’s focal point, Garfield Park, boasted a lagoon, bandstand, greenhouse, and golf course. A racetrack was built at the corner of Madison and Pulaski (then Crawford Street), and the completion of an elevated train link to the Loop in the 1890s spurred the community’s growth.

There was heavy construction of new homes and apartment buildings in the area in the 1920s, and by 1930 the community reached its population peak of over 50,000 -- principally Irish, but also Russian Jews, Italians who were moving in from neighborhoods to the east, and African Americans who lived along Lake Street, the oldest industrial section of the community.

New housing construction all but ceased after 1930, and additional housing units were acquired generally through the subdivision of larger, single-family homes. In the 1940s and 50s, additional housing conversions were necessitated for residents whose homes were demolished by the construction of the Eisenhower Expressway. By the 1950s, a third of the white population had left West Garfield Park and by the 1960s, more than 40,000 African Americans had moved into the neighborhood. Housing continued to be a problem, and between 1970 and 1980, West Garfield Park lost thousands of residents as housing units fell from 14,500 to 10,000. "Large empty lots, formerly occupied by small and medium-sized apartment buildings, [were] mute evidence of the loss of dwelling space caused by the withdrawal of investment, under-maintenance, and arson" (Local Community Fact Book, 1980).

In 1979, the median income of West Garfield Park residents was 2/3 the citywide median, and 40% of the population lived below the poverty level. "Several community groups have been formed to do something about deteriorating housing conditions and the erosion of the economic base of West Garfield Park. They faced an uphill struggle against the result of fifty years of neglect" (Local Community Fact Book, 1980). One of those community groups was Bethel Housing, Inc., formed by the Bethel Lutheran Church in 1979. In 1982, Bethel Housing changed its name to Bethel New Life, Inc., and under this name continued its work in offering housing opportunities--both rehab and new construction--to low and moderate-income community residents. Bethel New Life eventually managed over 100 rental units. In addition, Bethel operated food and sewing cooperatives, day-care and after-school programs for children, a holistic health center, and senior citizens programs.

In October 1983, Bethel New Life’s board appointed a historic preservation committee to work with graduate students from the University of Illinois to explore the possibilities for the preservation of West Garfield Park’s history--particularly architectural history. The committee recommended that the board not attempt historic district designation but encouraged grassroots preservation of local tradition and culture. The result was a project titled "Catch the West Garfield Spirit: Look Up, Look Around, and Be Proud." In 1983, Bethel successfully applied for an Illinois Humanities Council grant to "involve the Black community of Chicago’s West Side in recovering the recent history of the area." With grant monies supplied by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the project known as "Looking Backward to Move Forward" was funded.

"Looking Backward to Move Forward" focused on four themes--migration, ownership patterns, the church, and community leadership--which were seen as essential to West Side African American history. In 1984-1985 there were several programs developed to reclaim and uncover hidden sources of that rich history.

Under the direction of President Mary Nelson, Bethel New Life (http://www.bethelnewlife.org/) continues today to earn a national reputation for cutting edge initiatives and pioneering approaches that build on the people, physical assets, and faith base of Chicago’s West Side Community.

Scope and Content

The Records of Bethel New Life consist of more than 20 sets of original material and two supplements. The majority of the documents were donated or loaned to "Looking Backward to Move Forward" by Bethel New Life for archival acquisition or copying. Included among those materials were 221 photographs, 0.5 linear foot of manuscript material, nine oral histories on video tape, and 14 interviews on audio cassettes.

The photographs make up the core of the collection. These images cover a century of photography from tintypes to color snapshots. They record a wide range of African American history on the West Side of Chicago and include images of individuals, families, religious institutions, and businesses. Most of the photographs were taken in Chicago, but many illustrate Black families from the South who later relocated in Chicago. There are photos of former slaves (photo #5.11 and 15.12); an evangelist active in Underground Railroad work (#8.44); African American policemen, including those employed at the World’s Columbian Exposition (#5.9, 8.4, 8.6, 8.13, and 8.43); African American military units in the Spanish American War (#8.1, 8.17-8.18, 8.20-8.21, and 8.27); and famous people such as Martin Luther King Jr. (#4.3-4.4), Mahalia Jackson (#12.6-12.7, 12.13-12.14) and Langston Hughes (#15.2). See below for a listing of the photographs. A photograph index by subject also follows the Container List.

The photographs and manuscript material are arranged in accordance with the series divisions common to most of the Neighborhood History Research Collections, specifically: Biographical (Portraits/Family Photographs for photos), Business, Religious Institutions, Clubs and Organizations, Residences (photographs only), and Wartime Activities (photos only).

The accession numbers of the photographs do not follow consecutively. There will seem to be several numbers missing. Bethel assigned accession numbers to photos and manuscripts; these formats are now separated and the accession numbers for the manuscript material has been ignored in the current organizational scheme. The Bethel Accession Register (Oversize Folder 1) contains the complete and original listing of all material in this collection.

The Records of Bethel New Life also contain the administrative records of the "Looking Backward to Move Forward " project. These include donor files (Box 2:1-19), which are arranged alphabetically, and files concerning the Illinois Humanities Council grant (Box 2:20-2:22). Public programs conducted by Bethel are documented in audio cassettes #T15-T22 and video tape #V10.

Materials in Supplement 1 derive from several boxes of miscellany found in Special Collections storage. They were omitted from the original cataloging of the Bethel New Life collection although they probably arrived with the original accession. Included in this supplement are a file of administrative records and material concerning nine churches.

The audio cassettes that form Supplement 2 were received by Special Collections in March 1989. Included among them are four oral history interviews and the funeral service of one interviewee, "Blind" John Davis.